On Monday, a swap of big men between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets became official. Portland will send Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-round pick to Denver, with Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick going the other way.
Nurkic had fallen out of the Nuggets’ rotation, as he could not function alongside breakout star Nikola Jokic. But can the “Bosnian Bear” now be a fantasy basketball asset with the Trail Blazers?
Over 45 games (29 starts) with the Nuggets this season, Jurkic is averaging 8.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game (17.9 minutes per game. But his per-36 minute numbers, both for this season (16.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals) and his career (15.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals) reflects upside that has not been fully tapped into. Portland is clearly driven offensively by the backcourt duo of Daman Lillard and C.J. McCollum, but more playing time can offset any drop in Nurkic’s usage rate (22.5 percent so far this season).
Nurkic is not expected to make his Trail Blazers’ debut until Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, but he should be worth the short wait for fantasy owners that optimistically add him based on a change of scenery. His shooting percentages (50.7 from the floor, 49.6 from the line this season) won’t be helpful, and turnovers are a thing (1.8 per game this season), but Nurkic is worth targeting for points, rebounds and blocked shots as the season winds down.
Jusuf Nurkic ESPN Ownership Rate (As of 2/13/17): 33.7%
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